Ballon d’Or: less than 41 points separating the Frenchman and the Englishman
Winning the Ballon d’Or sometimes comes down to almost nothing, as Kylian Mbappé confirms, finishing second in the 2026 edition behind Harry Kane, the captain of Les Bleus, who fell short by less than 41 points, according to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia after the ceremony.
Points margin and vote revelation
‘It’s decided by very few points between Kane and Mbappé,’ Vincent Garcia told L’Equipe on air. He added that the gap was smaller than that between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024. The organisers said that the detailed votes would be published this Saturday. It is already known that fewer than 41 points separate the Frenchman from the Englishman.
This closeness shows that the Ballon d’Or can swing on a simple points difference. A small number of votes is enough to overturn the final ranking. The suspense surrounding the result confirms the tension that surrounds each edition.
Historical examples of tiny margins
In 1996, the German Matthias Sammer edged the Brazilian Ronaldo by a single point, 144 to 143. That same year, the first gap in history occurred in 1966, when Bobby Charlton won the trophy with a one‑point lead over Eusébio. In 1972, Franz Beckenbauer beat Gerd Müller and Günter Netzer by only two points. In 1977, Allan Simonsen secured the award with three votes ahead of Kevin Keegan.
Chinese brands break up with Kylian Mbappé after the Ballon d'Or
The very first Ballon d’Or, in 1966, saw Stanley Matthews beaten by three points by Alfredo Di Stéfano. More recently, in 2019, Lionel Messi was crowned ahead of Virgil van Dijk with a seven‑vote margin. Van Dijk was so close to Messi, recalling that thirty years earlier, in 1966, Bobby Charlton had also won by a single point over Eusébio.
All these examples illustrate the cruelty of the ballot, where a minuscule difference decides the supreme glory. They underline that every vote counts and that the final ranking can swing with the slightest variation.
The contrast between the current battle and the previous ones shows that, even in 2026, the margin between first and second can still be minute. The anticipation of the vote reveal this Saturday promises to confirm just how much the title was decided ‘by very few points’.